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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $1,174.00| Rating: 8

Pros:

Offcourse all the nice things you can do with a tilt/shift lens. 45 mm is nice on a FF camera. Very good build.

Cons:

I do not like the bokeh, the only con I can think off.

The possibility's are enormous if you know how to use the lens, it is not so very easy to learn. I like the 45 mm on a FF very much, just in the middle of my two favourite's , the 35 mm and the 50/55 mm. It is easy to create miniature with this lens. Portraits also nice, but you will not use that very often. Canon says that it is not possible to use extenders, that is not true. I do not know why they say that. Just as my TS-E24 mm mark II (wich has a much higher IQ) I use the shift the most. Buildings and so on. I very much like the build quality, it is just like a very good L lens. No autofocus is no issue for me. Good IQ but no stellar. Bokeh is ugly, so be careful with trees in the background. That also means you can not really use the lens as an all-round lens. There are better 50 mm around with much nicer bokeh and even zooms can do better.

kafri

Registered: November 2010Posts: 2

Canon TS-E 45mm f/2.8 review by kafri

Review Date: 5/19/2011

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $1,600.00| Rating: 10

This lens is a real gem! For me it is the most versatile TS lens on the market! I mainly use it for creative portraits of bridal couples! The potential of this lens to create stunning images is unmatched! Especially, if locations are not special this lens greatly helps to create extraordinary results. For instance, just shoot a couple or a person against a blue/cloudy sky and make use of the tilt effects of this lens! Check out my website to get an idea:

For a long time I refused to buy this lens because it has only manual focus, which deterred me. However, Canon's live view makes the tilt effects visible, especially if you magnify 5-10x. In addition, I recommend using the Canon focus screen EG-S for manual focus. It is slightly darker than the other focus screens but makes focusing so much more convenient and precise.
I don't use the shift function of the lens as often as the tilt function, but sometimes if I do architecture it's a crucial function!
For wedding photography I strongly recommend to use a 2 camera-body setup when using this lens. For wedding photojournalism it is definitely not fast enough due to its missing autofocus.

ksbuehler

Registered: January 2009Posts: 4

Canon TS-E 45mm f/2.8 review by ksbuehler

Review Date: 1/25/2010

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $900.00| Rating: 10

A bit more Chromatic aberration than I'd like in a lens of this price.

I bought this lens used from a studio photographer. I shoot on a Canon 7D (1.6x APS-C sensor), making this 45mm lens a 72mm equivalent.

In my view, this is the best value and most versatile tilt/shift lens on the market for APS-C sensors. The nikon is double the price. The 90mm canon is a bit too long for most uses on an APS-C camera. If I need a longer tilt/shift lens, I use the canon 1.4x teleconverter with the 45mm. The 1st generation canon 24mm is not as good of optics as the 45mm. The 2nd generation canon 24mm is much more expensive, and the larger image circle isn't needed on APS-C cameras.

I use this lens more often than I expected. Here are some of the ways I use it:

1) landscape - increase depth of field. Ex: getting both the pebbles on the beach in focus and the mountains in the background
2) landscape - decrease depth of filed. In "busy" scenes, isolate specific elements of the landscape. Caution should be used to prevent the "miniature" look, unless that is what you are going for.
3) portrait - control exact focal plane placement to emphasize features. Ex: get only one eye in focus, or only the mouth, etc...
4) low light photography. This applies to indoor, night-time, or other times when you need to open to f2.8 and still struggle to capture enough light. Controlling the focal plane enables you to get more of what you want into the limited depth-of-fielded dictated by wide apertures.
5) macro. I use this lens with extension tubes and the 1.4x TC as needed. Depth-of-field is always an issue with macro. More focal plane control can enable a smaller aperture setting, and therefore allow for faster shutter speeds and/or lower ISO settings.

JGLarson

Registered: January 2007Posts: 6

Canon TS-E 45mm f/2.8 review by JGLarson

Review Date: 1/13/2007

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $1,150.00| Rating: 9

Pros:

Great resolution. Tilt and shift together are way more useful than shift alone

Cons:

Bulky, have to modify it to change the axis of shift with tilt

This lens is superb optically. I use it in the studio for general product photography, and on location to acheive the Scheimplug effect. Though it doesn't completely replace the benefits of a full View Camera, it's amazing how close it comes to what I would do with a view camera. I can also increase the effective Resolution/file size of an image by stitching multiple shifted images together.

I don't miss the lack of Auto Focus, because my 30D, and 5D will give me the same focus point confirmation when I manually focus. I love the fact that the aperture is set on the camera (on Canons), rather than a on lens preset aperture style, like I had on my old Nikon 28mm PC lens.

Even though they are vastly different in price, many photographers will wonder why not just get the "Lens Baby" to get that "tilt in and out of focus" effect. While I do own a Lens Baby for fun portrait work, they are great. But the Canon TS series is way more practical for product photo work, and except for the new 3G versions the LB's are almost impossible to repeat their effect.

Anyone who shoots seriously should try renting one of these T/S lenses, and they will want to buy one. I also have the 90mm version, which I use for smaller products, and am considering the 24mm one too.